One issue in electronic circuit design is crosstalk. In general, crosstalk occurs when a signal on one conductive element creates an undesired electrical effect in another element. In general, crosstalk is the result of electromagnetic coupling between closely proximate elements. Unwanted crosstalk can negatively impact the performance of electronic circuits. Past attempts to improve circuit isolation and reduce electromagnetic coupling and have relied upon either a large shield structure or a grounding conductor.
Electromagnetic coupling and the resulting crosstalk is particularly problematic in high speed, radio frequency (RF) devices. For example, crosstalk between RF circuit elements such as circuit traces, bond wires and package leads can reduce gain, linearity, output power and efficiency in RF devices. Furthermore, the problems of crosstalk in RF devices become a greater issue as power and frequency increase and as the size of such devices decreases.
Thus, there remains a continuing need to improve isolation and reduce crosstalk in electronic circuits, and in particular in high speed RF devices.